Sporting Kansas City forced to play waiting game on Kei Kamara's future

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Sporting Kansas City would be interested in bringing back forward Kei Kamara for a second stint, but it's a moot point for now.

“The way he got out of his contract – it was after the deadline, so he can't come back this season,” manager and technical director Peter Vermes told reporters after Monday's training season. “So we'll really have to see how things take shape in the offseason.”

Kamara, who played for Kansas City from 2009 to mid-2013 before leaving for Championship side Middlesbrough, has parted ways with the English club. The Sierra Leonean winger, who helped Kansas City win the 2012 U.S. Open Cup, has expressed an interest in returning to Sporting Park – among other possible MLS destinations.

But any move to an active roster in the league will have to wait, because the decision to leave Middlesbrough was announced Thursday, well after the closing of MLS' summer transfer window.

“He has to be out of contract when the window closed,” Vermes said. “So he can't play for anyone in this league this season.”

The 30-year-old Kamara would have to go through the allocation order if he returns to MLS, because Sporting accepted a transfer fee for him from Boro.

Sporting sit 16th in the order and would have to make some sort of deal to get Kamara back – but that and timing aren't the only issues, Vermes said.

“A lot of it's going to depend on what's going on with the league and CBA and all that stuff, so it's really hard to comment,” he said. “We have interest in him and many other players, so it's just going to be dependent upon what the mechanism is.”